Third-quarter net income rose to $408 million, or 82 cents
a share, from $367 million, or 74 cents, a year earlier,
Greenwood Village, Colorado-based Newmont said today in a
statement. Profit excluding one-time items was 46 cents a share,
topping the 32-cent average of 17 estimates compiled by
Bloomberg. Sales declined to $1.98 billion from $2.48 billion,
less than the $2 billion average estimate.

Newmont’s Gary Goldberg is among chief executive officers
in the industry looking for ways to bolster profit margins after
gold slipped into a bear market in April. Newmont is aiming to
reduce its cost to produce an ounce of gold by about $125 by
2015, Goldberg said Sept. 24. The company has cut its corporate
office staff by almost 30 percent and reduced spending compared
with last year, he said.

Newmont’s average cost applicable to sales was $649 an
ounce, compared with $693 a year earlier and the $717 average of
six estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Copper costs were $2.63 a
pound, compared with $2.38 last year.

On Oct. 10, Newmont reported preliminary third-quarter gold
output of 1.28 million ounces and copper production of 34
million pounds, compared with 1.24 million and 35 million a year
earlier. Metal sales were 1.26 million ounces and 35 million
pounds, compared with 1.21 million and 37 million in the same
period of 2012.

Gold averaged $1,328 on the Comex in New York in the third
quarter, 20 percent less than a year earlier and 6.3 percent
lower than the second quarter.

The third-quarter results were released after the close of
regular trading in New York. Newmont fell 2.8 percent to $27.26
at 4:02 p.m. today.

Barrick Gold Corp., based in Toronto, is the biggest gold
producer by sales.

(Newmont scheduled a conference call for 10 a.m. New York
time tomorrow. U.S. callers should dial 1-888-566-1822,
international callers 1-312-470-7116. Pass code: Newmont.)